February 26, 2008

Do you recognize this adorable little girl? A few months ago Creating Keepsakes emailed me and asked me if they could use a photo from this shoot that I did for their COVER LAYOUT!! I was so excited and just so honored that they wanted to use one of my photos!! I quickly emailed her parents to ask permission and they were of course thrilled too!

A couple of days after that Creating Keepsakes emailed me again and asked me if I would create two layouts with the photo. They wanted me to send both of them in and then they would choose their favorite to use on the cover of the issue!! I was again super excited and of course, I said yes! Man, was that pressure! I know I create layouts all the time and have been published a lot but this was a big deal! I don't think I have ever been that nervous creating a layout before! I mean, what if I sent them in and they didn't like either of them enough to put on the cover! Scary stuff!!

I was so excited to see this in my mailbox the other day! It is so fun to actually see it in print and to hold it in my hands! And, naturally, her parents were thrilled too! They are being a little modest about it, but I told them they should shout it from the rooftops and tell everyone! It's not often that your daughter gets chosen to be on the cover of a magazine that gets mailed to people all around the world!

Unfortunately there was an editorial mistake and they accidentally removed the credit info and supply list at the last minute to move some things around and then it didn't get put back on. Kind of a bummer, I know. The super nice folks at CK feel so bad! But, nonetheless, this is huge for me and I am so thrilled and honored!! You can see this layout up close and you can also view the alternate layout I created with the same photo at this link. The supply lists are there as well.

Thanks for stopping by and for letting me share this with you!! I am blessed to have had such amazing opportunities in my life!! Fun stuff!!!

February 25, 2008

Making Memories is featuring a layout that I made over on their blog today. Here is a detail shot but you can see the entire layout along with the instructions over on their blog.

I obviously made this layout for Valentine's Day but I still have it up! I hung it in our kitchen where we could see it and I just can't bring myself to take it down! It just makes me smile when I see this picture of him! I think I am going to continue to hang layouts in this spot - just change them out every once in a while. I especially love the look of the die cut circle paper hanging up like this rather than just the typical square layout.

February 20, 2008

I had the privilege of photographing this gorgeous girl recently for her senior pictures. Not only is she amazingly beautiful on the outside, but I also happen to know her very well and she is a beautiful person on the inside too! She was a ton of fun to photograph and she was such a natural! I love how so much personality comes through on her photos! And her eyes... well, I will let you see for yourself!

It took me a while to get her proofs done because there were just too many good ones to choose from! I had such a hard time narrowing it down, but I finally got it done and I am excited for her to see them! Here are a few of my favorites and as always, you can view the entire album here. (Actually, they are all my favorite... she is just too cute!)

February 14, 2008

February 07, 2008

I was lucky enough to be asked to join Scarlet Lime this month as their guest artist! I was asked to put together a kit of some of my favorite products and then design a project using the kit! It was a lot of fun and I absolutely love how the kit turned out - full of fun stuff! Unfortunately it sold out a few hours after it went on sale so they are all gone but I wanted to share the projects I did with it.

This first project is a piece of plexiglass (that came with the kit) that I designed and embellished as a home decor item. You could either take the glass out of a frame and frame the whole piece or just leave it by itself and lean it on a shelf or table. I have had it sitting in many different spots in my home and it works everywhere! If you bought my kit you will get the complete instructions to make this!

After making the project I had so much left over that I didn't even use, so I wanted to show everyone another fun thing they could make with the same kit. This is a mini album, entitled "bits & pieces". I wanted to make a fun little book where I can record random thoughts, memories and photos. It is super simple. I decorated the cover and the first page and then left the remaining pages blank. When I get to each page, I will first do my journaling, add photos if any, and then if there is room left over, I will add a simple embellishment. This is a no-pressure, no-fuss way of scrapbooking (for my friends who "don't scrapbook"). You can record memories and photos in a little book like this and it doesn't have to be fancy or time-consuming! Keep it as simple as you want and if you are feeling more creative one day, then you can do a little more to that page. See, super easy, right?

All of the Scarlet Lime kits are awesome! I have a subscription so I get the main kit every month. I have to say that these kits are always bursting at the seams with tons of amazing products! I have never been disappointed or felt like I didn't get more than my money's worth! Another thing I absolutely love about these kits are the custom designed clear stamps! They are always super cute and many times you get more than one stamp in a kit!! LOVE that!

If you don't already subscribe and you are looking for a scrapbooking kit, this one is a must! They always sell out within hours so if you want to get in on the fun, you should definitely get on the waiting list for next month! I promise you will love these kits!

And last these are the pages I made using this month's main kit. It was awesome too - tons of beautiful products! I am so into the metallic embellishments right now - love the gold, silver and copper! Thanks, Christy, for asking me to be the guest artist! Fun stuff!